MRF (Material Recovery Facility)

MRF (Material Recovery Facility) is a waste-processing plant that receives mixed dry recyclables and separates them into clean, marketable fractions. In India, MRFs are mandated under the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 for urban local bodies (ULBs) handling more than 15 tonnes of dry waste per day. A typical city-scale MRF covers 0.5–2 acres and processes 50–300 tonnes per day (TPD), using a combination of manual sorting lines, conveyor belts, magnetic separators, and air classifiers. CPCB guidelines require MRFs to have a weighbridge, covered processing area, leachate collection, and worker PPE provision.

Inside an MRF, incoming material follows a fixed flow: manual pre-sorting removes hazardous or inert items → size screening separates fines (soil, organic) from coarse recyclables → magnetic drums extract ferrous metal → eddy-current or manual lines separate aluminium → manual lanes segregate plastics by type (HDPE, PET, PP, PVC, MLP) → paper and cardboard are separated → baling machines compress each fraction into 100–500 kg bales. Recovery rates at well-run MRFs in India reach 80–90% of the incoming recyclable fraction; poorly managed MRFs recover 40–60%. The gap is almost entirely manual sorter training and line speed.

Economics of MRF operation in India: tipping fees from ULBs range from Rs 500–1,500 per tonne depending on city and contract. Sale of sorted fractions — HDPE at Rs 18–28/kg, PET at Rs 12–20/kg, aluminium at Rs 90–120/kg, corrugated cardboard at Rs 8–12/kg — provide the operating revenue. Capex for a 50 TPD MRF runs Rs 1.5–3 crore. Opex is dominated by labour (sorters at Rs 300–450/day, supervisor Rs 600–800/day) and power (Rs 0.8–1.5/kg processed). Gate-to-gate processing cost typically lands between Rs 600–1,200 per tonne.

For a plastic recycler or waste aggregator setting up or supplying a MRF, the critical operational discipline is incoming material quality control: reject organic-contaminated or wet loads at the gate (>20% moisture doubles sorting labour cost), demand source-segregated dry waste from ULB contracts, and negotiate tipping-fee contracts with quality penalty clauses. A MRF feeding a plastic mechanical recycling line should target post-MRF plastic fractions at less than 3% contamination by weight — above that, washing-line costs rise sharply.